1. Field of the Invention
A tire pressure monitoring system for a wheel of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Given recent developments, as well as national publicity, regarding vehicle rollover concerns and ways to prevent such rollovers from occurring, a market has developed for devices that enable drivers to monitor variables that have been shown to contribute to vehicle rollovers. In particular, a focus has centered on tire technology such as tread separation, which appears to have significantly contributed to vehicle rollovers. Tread separation in tires has been linked to insufficient tire pressure of the wheel. Thus, it appears that at least a portion of past vehicle rollover incidents could have been prevented by ensuring that the tire pressure remains within an acceptable pressure range.
Ensuring that proper tire pressure remains in the wheel can be a tedious task and is often overlooked. Although tire gauges are readily available, a driver must remember to periodically check the pressure in the wheels by taking a gauge and manually measuring the tire pressure in each of the wheels.
In order to provide some type of automatic monitoring, devices have been developed for continuously monitoring tire pressure in the wheels and displaying a warning if the tire pressure falls below an acceptable level. Many of the current devices utilize an instrument mounted on an exterior of a rim of the wheel or on an interior of the rim. These current devices, however, employ a battery source and transmit radio frequencies to a processor within the vehicle. Radio frequencies are subject to distortion and interference by external radio frequencies, power lines, etc. The distortion and interference may result in inaccurate readings from the devices. In addition, the devices require additional service for replacing the battery. Thus, there is an opportunity to provide an apparatus for continuously monitoring the tire pressure within the wheel, without employing radio frequencies or batteries, to provide accurate readings by overcoming the distortion and interference of the current technology.